A couple of similarities between Britain now and recent totalitarian states in Europe, including Nazi Germany, but there are so many to choose from in the long history of totalitarian state:
Demonisation of left;
vilification of trade unionists;
threats to judiciary;
attacks on freedom of speech and privacy;
open and state controlled prejudice against ethnic group;
removal of access to higher education of particular ethnic group/nationalities;
anti feminist legislation and policies;
rabid nationalist press;
weaponising of the poor against the poor
vilification of the sick
hysterical nationalism at sporting events;
etc
medium.com/@Amy_Siskind
Amy Siskind has documented the changes in US, Perhaps we should document them here, systematically, they have been creeping up on us in plain sight.
"There is no more symbolic an image of 2016 than the picture of Donald Trump and a gloating Farage standing in front of Trump’s gold-plated doors, like a grotesque modern-day version of Churchill, Truman and Stalin at Potsdam.
Theirs is the face of the new “special relationship”.
Two people with no programme or policies worthy of the name, united by the size of their egos and the depth of their bigotry. Both describe themselves as “anti-establishment”. Both have campaigned, and won, on a platform of open xenophobia - stoking, then harnessing, anger and prejudice. Both have also lied and lied again.
There are, of course, many and complex factors behind the rise of both. But to explain it as a revolt of the “have-nots” against globalisation, or the failure of “liberalism”, is wrong, and simply plays into Trump and Farage’s hands. Most low-income voters in the USA actually voted for Hillary, and Trump got plenty of votes from the well-off: a pattern which is not dissimilar to that of the EU referendum.
At heart, this is about who we are, and what we stand for, as a society.
Reflection and critical thinking are perhaps not very fashionable in a fast-paced world where false news on social media shapes our view of the world much more than real news .
But our society is built on values, even if we take them for granted. These values, which include equality, fairness, justice and inclusivity, have made British society what it is today. They are not, however, exclusive to Britain, but shared across Europe.
The European Charter of Fundamental Rights states that the EU is
founded on the indivisible, universal values of human dignity, freedom, equality and solidarity; it is based on the principles of democracy and the rule of law. It places the individual at the heart of its activities, by establishing the citizenship of the Union and by creating an area of freedom, security and justice.
Is there anything in there that is “un-British”? Is there anything that is offensive, or objectionable? Are these not the very same values that underpin the foundations of British society?
Ironically, the UK is in fact the only EU Member State, aside from Poland, to have opted out of the Charter - and that was well before the EU referendum. All EU Member States are nonetheless required to be signatories to the European Convention on Human Rights, which is but a European version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights".
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/federico-moscogiuri/donald-trump-brexit_b_13136440.html
Nothing new in this article ^, but Hannah Arendt's free downloadable book on Totalitarianism documents the steady step by step journey from free, accountable state held to account by Separation of Powers to the internalised state controlled cruelty we see here in Britain now.
Interestingly there seems to be a roughly 30 year cycle between democracy and totalitarianism in northern Europe, over the last few hundred years. I wonder if we've been lulled by a particularly long period of peace, democracy and stability into forgetting to be watchful.
The slogan at Yad Vashem is 'Never Again'.
Many stand to make a fortune out of turning Britain into a totalitarian state, likewise in the state to which we aspire to have vassal status.